Was getting traded to the Mavericks the reason JJ Redick decided to quit the game early? He’s never said so in public, but it is a fact that his NBA career came to an abrupt end following his last trade to the Dallas Mavericks.
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Although the now Lakers Head Coach played for six teams during his 15-year NBA career, the last trade — when he was moved from the Pelicans to the Mavs — appears to have been the final straw. It’s because he announced his retirement almost six months to the day after being traded. What’s more, his then roommate and close friend, Josh Hart may have had something to do with it!
For sure, NBA trades are often unpredictable. surprising and sometimes even shocking (just look at Luka Doncic!). And it’s often difficult to figure out why exactly a particular trade happened. But in JJ’s case, Hart believes that he may have unintentionally played a role in Redick being shipped off to Dallas.
On an episode of the Roommates Show, the Knicks’ small forward and shooting guard claimed that he may have ended up inadvertently putting the ‘commentator jinx’ on Redick’s future with the Pelicans. For those just tuning in, a ‘commentator jinx’ is when a commentator says something about a player or a team duing a game and the complete opposite starts to happen.
So how did Hart ending up jinxing JJ’s trade? It apparently happened this way: At the time, he and Redick were living in the same house, so Hart was quite aware of the situation that he was in regarding his trade.
However, with only two minutes left in the trade deadline, he felt confident that his teammate was going to stay in NOL. So, Hart decided to call Redick at 2:58 PM and talk to him about staying back in the city. To his surprise, shortly after picking up his call, Redick told Hart that he’d have to call him back as his agent was also on the line.
Hart said, “20 seconds later, I go on Twitter, ‘JJ Redick is traded to the Mavs.’” The Knicks star believes that his phone call jinxed Redick’s no-trade scenario. He said, “I had a commentator jinx on his trade.”
POV: You are @joshhart calling JJ Redick two minutes before the end of the 2021 Trade Deadline and before you know it, he's off to the Dallas Mavericks🐎
"He was living in my house…I did the commentator jinx" pic.twitter.com/uSKxgWh0BJ
— Let’s Talk Knicks (LTK) (@LetsTalkKnicks_) February 6, 2025
Fortunately, Hart’s fateful call did not end up jinxing their friendship. The former teammates and roomies have remained good friends ever since.
In fact, before Redick took up the head coaching job in LA in June 2024, he vowed to help Hart improve his three-point shooting. Hart has been an impressive two-way wing for the Knicks so far, but he has had a longstanding issue with his shooting from the distance.
On an episode of Old Man and the Three podcast in March 2024, Redick said he was committed to helping out his former teammate.
He had said, “We’re gonna work on the shot this summer. We’ve already committed to each other.” Hart’s shooting from beyond did have a slight uptick this season as he sits at just over 34% from three-point territory.
